Nebraska’s Nebraska Early Learning Guidelines: The official early learning standards framework
Nebraska’s early learning standards are organized under the Early Learning Guidelines: Nebraska’s Birth to Five Learning and Development Standards (ELGs), administered by the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE). Nebraska’s ELGs apply to licensed childcare centers, family childcare homes, and Head Start programs serving children from birth through age 5 statewide.
Nebraska’s ELGs define developmental expectations across all 8 domains and guide curriculum planning, developmental assessment, and program quality. Programs can view current guidance at the NDE Early Learning Guidelines page.
Nebraska’s QRIS is called Step Up to Quality, administered by the Nebraska Department of Education. Programs receiving significant CCDF childcare subsidy funding are required to participate. Step Up to Quality evaluates programs across five standard areas. Using a research-based curriculum aligned to Nebraska’s Early Learning Guidelines supports higher Step Up to Quality ratings.
Explore by developmental domain
Nebraska’s Nebraska Early Learning Guidelines domains and Experience Curriculum alignment
Select a developmental domain below to see how Nebraska’s Nebraska Early Learning Guidelines defines that domain, the key milestones by age group, and exactly how Experience Curriculum activities and skills map to each Nebraska Early Learning Guidelines indicator.
Social-Emotional Development
Self-regulation, peer relationships, identity, empathy, and emotional expression
Explore Nebraska Social-Emotional Development standards →Language & Literacy
Receptive and expressive language, phonological awareness, early reading and writing
Explore Nebraska Language & Literacy standards →Mathematics & Reasoning
Number sense, patterns, measurement, spatial reasoning, and early problem-solving
Explore Nebraska Mathematics & Reasoning standards →Science
Observation, inquiry, cause-and-effect, and exploration of the natural world
Explore Nebraska Science standards →Social Studies
Community, family, cultural identity, roles, and civic understanding
Explore Nebraska Social Studies standards →Creative Arts
Visual arts, music, movement, dramatic play, and creative expression
Explore Nebraska Creative Arts standards →Physical Development
Gross and fine motor skills, body awareness, health, and self-care
Explore Nebraska Physical Development standards →Approaches to Learning
Curiosity, persistence, initiative, flexibility, and attention
Explore Nebraska Approaches to Learning standards →Curriculum alignment
How Experience Curriculum aligns to Nebraska’s Nebraska Early Learning Guidelines
Experience Curriculum is formally aligned to Nebraska’s Nebraska Early Learning Guidelines across all three age bands — Baby (birth to 18 months), Toddler (18 to 36 months), and Preschool (3 to 5 years) — and all 8 developmental domains. The Nebraska Early Learning Guidelines Alignment PDF documents how every Experience Curriculum activity and skill maps to a specific Nebraska Early Learning Guidelines indicator.
For Nebraska programs using brightwheel, developmental observations can be logged directly in the app during or after activities, automatically building each child’s portfolio and supporting Step Up to Quality curriculum documentation requirements.
The Nebraska Early Learning Guidelines Alignment PDF is a free resource documenting how every Experience Curriculum activity maps to Nebraska’s Nebraska Early Learning Guidelines indicators — suitable for QRIS review submissions and licensing documentation.
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